Cane crutch



M O R T S P E D E C P CANE CRUTCH Original Filed April 5, 1937 PatentedMar. 5,1940

UNITED STATES PATENT Orr-ice 2.19am a 22, 1938, Serial No. 203,620

135,142, April 5, 1937. This application April 4 Claims. (01. 135-49)The present invention relates to walking sticks and more particularly toa cane crutch for aiding invalids or injured persons.

The present invention is an improvement upon 5 canes or crutches havinga support for the forearm at the upper end thereof and having a handlebelow the support adapted to be engaged by the hand so that the weightof the person may be supported by the arm and the hand.

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple, inexpensivecane crutch for invalids or injured persons.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cane crutch adapted tominimize the shocks to which the user may be subjected.

Another object of the invention is to provide a more comfortable canecrutch having an improved appearance.

Another object of the invention is to provide W a cane crutch whichprevents injury to the person or clothing of the user.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cane crutch formed ofwood having an intev gral yieldable portion adapted to serve as an armtifi rest,

Another object of the invention is to provide a cane crutch formed of astick of wood having a plurality of integral obliquely bent resilientslats at the upper end thereof upon which an arm W) support is adaptedto be mounted.

- A further object of the invention is to provide a cane crutchcomprising a stick portion and a plurality of integral resilient slatportions adapted to cooperate with the stick portion to minimize $5shocks.

Other and further objects of the invention will beobvious upon anunderstanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described; orwill be indicated in the appended claims, and various adtto vantages notreferred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employmentof the invention in practice. I

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes ofillustration and de- M scription and is shown in theaccompanyingdrawing, forming a part of the specification, wherein Fig. 1 is a sideview of a cane crutch or walking stick illustrating an embodiment of theinvention; and

50 Fig. 2 is a front view of the same.

Referring again to the drawing, there is shown a stick member formed ofsuitable wood such as hickory or other relatively strong, but slightlyresilient wood. The'stick member comprises a stick portion I, ahandlemember 2 attached thereto and projectingoutwardly from one sidethereof, and a plurality of integral slats 3 or the like above thehandle member. For example, four slats may be formed at the upper end ofthe stick member which are of a suitable thickness so that they arerelatively springy or yieldable, but yet strong enough to support theweight of a person. The slats are formed by cutting recesses or slits30. (Fig. 1) in the upper end of the stick member and are bent obliquelywith respect to the stick m portion i in the opposite direction in whichthe handle member projects outwardly to provide an arm rest or supportfor the person using the stick.

In order to facilitate resting the arm on the w support, a U-shaped forkmember t adapted to fit about and serve as a guide for the forearm, isprovided at the upper end of the slats. Preferably, the member Q isattached by securing it to a suitable bracket or clamp 5 with bolts orrivets W B, and in turn, securing the bracket to the slat 3' at the sideof the stick from which the handle member 2 projects outwardly.

- In this manner, a sturdy, comfortable resilient arm rest is providedwhich is integral with the $5 stick portion and thereby affords aspringy action which seems to extend lengthwise throughout the stickmember. In other words, the entire stick or cane crutch seems to beresilient to minimize shocks while walking. A further advantage of $9utilizing a plurality of integral slats is that each mayyieldindependently of the resilience of the other slat. Nevertheless,all slats contribute jointly to the resilient eifect of the arm rest.

If desired, the fork member t and the slats 3 3 may be concealed by acasing or covering 8 and 8' (partly shown in Fig. 1) respectively,formed of leather, rubber, cloth or other suitable material adapted toimprove-the appearance of the cane crutch. The covering 8' or casingalso prevents 40 the skin or clothing of the person using the canecrutch from being caught between the slats 3, and acts as .a cushion tomake the arm rest more.

. comfortable.

Further improvements in the present construction are that the upperportion of the stick is substantially rectangular so that slats may beformed therein which are of uniform width. Also, the stick portion ipreferably is cylindrical and tapers downwardlyto decrease its weight.To 5 further minimize shocks to which the user is subjected,'a resilientcrutch tip '9 is" secured to the lower end of the stick portion.

" Touse the-improved cane crutch, the'invalid or injuredperson manuallygrasps'the handle 2,

holds it in position so that it will project away from the body, andplaces the arm in the fork member 4 to permit the forearm to rest on theslat 3'. During walking, the weight of the person is partly supported bythe arm rest and partly by the handle. This relieves the strain on thehand or the user. In addition, the resilient slats give the cane crutcha spring-like action which makes walking easier.

It will be seen that the present invention provides an improved canecrutch which is simple, inexpensive and can be readily made. The canecrutch is light in weight and is sturdy in construction. The arm rest bybeing made of wood, does not become very cold in the winter time, orvery hot in the summer time, because-wood is a poor conductor of heat,thus aiding to the comfort of the user. The cane crutch is fully capableof withstanding any rough usage to which it may be subjected.

As various changes may be made in the form,

This application is a substitute application for.

my prior application, Serial No. 135,142, flled April 5, 1937.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A combination cane and crutch for invalids comprising a wooden stickhaving its upper portion bent obliquely with respect to its lowerportion to provide an arm rest and cut to provide a plurality of slotsintegral with said stick adapted to render the upper portion yieldable,a clamp member fitting over the upper end of one of said slats andextending along approximately one third the length thereof, adapted tosupport an' arm retaining member, an arm retaining member secured tosaid clamp, and a handle portion on said stick below the bent upperportion.

2. A cane crutch of the class described comprising, in combination, astick portion adapted to assist in supporting a persons weight, anoutwardly projecting handle member secured to said stick portion, an armrest portion above the handle member integral with said stick portionextending upwardly therefrom and curved outwardly with respect theretoin a direction opposite to said handle member and having a plurality oflongitudinal cuts therein forming a plurality of substantially resilientslat portions spaced from each other at their lower ends and normally incontact with each other adjacent their free ends adapted to flex andcause movement-of said free ends with respect to each other whensubjected to the weight of a person. a casing at least partiallyenclosing the slat portions comprising said arm rest to assist inmaintaining the free ends of said slat portions in substantiallycontiguous relationship to give increased strength and durability to thearm rest, and a U-shaped arm retaining member secured to one of saidslat portions adjacent the upper end thereof.

3. A combination cane and crutch for invalids, comprising a cane memberadapted to be used as a walking stick having an upper portion curvedobliquely with respect to the lower portion' thereof to provide an armrest, said upper portion having apair of spaced yieldable slats atopposite sides thereof, at least one yieldable slat intermediate saidfirst mentioned slats, all of said slats being substantiallyequidistantly spaced from each other adjacent their lower ends, an armretaining member at the upper end of said arm rest, and means on thecane member below the curved upper portion for manual engagementthereof.

4.. A cane crutch comprising, in combination, a cane portion adapted toassist in supporting a persons weight, an outwardly projecting handlemember secured to said cane portion, an arm rest portion extendingupwardly from and curved outwardly with respect to the cane portioncomprising a plurality of longitudinally extending slat portions adaptedto flex when subjected to the weight of a person, and a casing at leastpartially enclosing said arm rest portion adapted to assist inmaintaining the free ends of said slat portions thereof in substantiallycontiguous relationship.

PHILIP CEDERSTROM.

